Vowles of Md. Chap. 1
Here is my Vowles of Md., Va. and Ky., Chapter 1
Chapter 1. Vowles Settlement in Maryland
Although the spelling of the name has consistently been changed to Vowels in Nelson Co., Ky., practically all Maryland and early Kentucky records spell the name Vowles, and so after John "Vowell" the form Vowles will be used throughout this chapter. The Penguin Dictionary of Surnames by Basil Cottle gives these variations: Vowell(s), Vowels, Vowles, stating that it is based on the word for "bird" and that it is a southern English form related to northern English Fowle and Fowler. It is said that today the name is most widespread in the English county of Somerset.
The first of the name found in Maryland is John "Vowell," whose fare was paid by Thomas Notley. Notley, acting resident governor from 1676 to 1679, claimed his "headright" for John Vowell on 2 Aug. 1670.1 Notley is known to have arrived from Barbados in 1662, and on this basis John Vowell's voyage to America could have occurred before May 1670.2 It was probably not before May 1669, however, since Lord Baltimore granted 50 acres for every person transported ("headright") to the one who paid their way, but he had to apply within a year from the date of landing.3 From the time of arrival, an adult headright had to work four years for the person who paid his fare, and that person had to furnish the "servant" with clothing, bed, and board. Those who came when under 18 were to serve until they were 24. Newman quotes the Archives of Maryland, volume I, page 97, regarding the rights of such "servants" at the end of their period of servitude: "A Servant at the end of his Service shall have by the custome of the Country one good cloth suite of Keirsey or broad cloth a shift of white linen one new pair of stockings and Shoes two hoes one axe 3 barrells of Corne and fifty acres of land, five whereof at least to be plantable. . . ."4 On 2 Nov. 1674, John Vowell and Edward Tipton petitioned for their rights for their times of servitude and immediately assigned these rights (meaning, apparently, their 50 acres) to John Suttle.5 From this we assume that John Vowell was born no later than 1650-51. (He probably came when at least 19 and received his rights after four years. No headright for a wife was claimed, so John was probably single or widowed.)
There are no Maryland records relating to the settlement of John's estate, so we do not know when he died and whether the John Vowles who was involved in the administration of an estate on 26 Aug. 1718 was this John or John the son of Richard.6 The John Vowles who witnessed the Anne Arundel Co. will of James Chrouch on 23 Apr. 1693 was probably this one, although we might wonder why he is involved with a person who died so far from St. Mary's Co.7 There is another Maryland record that provides a fair argument that John "Vowell" was the father of Richard Vowles, the great grandfather of those children of Cyrus Vowles that settled in Nelson Co., Ky. There are on record several instances of association of Richard's family with members of the Carberry family and the following one in which John Vowles had dealings with John Baptist Carberry. In Dec. 1692, action was in progress on settlement of the estate of Cuthbert Scott, whose widow had since married John Baptist Carberry. The record states that John Vowles was married to Scott's sister (her first name not given). John Vowles claimed that Carberry had illegally obtained letters of administration of Scott's estate and petitioned that administration be granted to him in right of his wife, the sister and heiress of Cuthbert Scott.8 No record has been found telling the outcome of this case, but for the moment, at least, Carberry was ordered to cease carrying out the administration until the matter was decided.
Without any estate records for John Vowell, no absolutely certain connection can be made between him and the Richard Vowles of St. Mary's Co. who died in 1724. The next possibility for making such an association would be in land records. Although many such records appear in St. Mary's Co. for Richard and his descendants, none have been found for John. (Records of grants and surveys were maintained at the provincial/state level in colonial Maryland, but deeds were a county matter and are not available for St. Mary's Co. because of a courthouse fire in the 1830s that destroyed everything up to that date.) The record of the dispute with J.B. Carberry mentioned previously might suggest a search of Charles Co. records. This document places Cuthbert Scott in St. Mary's Co., but in referring to John Vowles the clerk seems to have started to write St. Mary's, stopped at the "M," and then crossed it out, writing "Charles Co." instead. Charles Co. land records, however, reveal no Vowleses. Perhaps an indication of some kind of association between John Vowell and Richard Vowles is the fact that "Hopton Park," the 2100 acres surveyed for John's brother-in-law Cuthbert Scott in 1680, is just north of several tracts of land that belonged to the family of Richard Vowles.9
The earliest appearance of Richard Vowles of St. Mary's is recorded 9 Aug. 1686.10 We may assume that he was probably 18 or older by then, since he had married Mrs. Margaret Cole. This would place his birth in about 1668 at the latest and would mean that if he were the son of John, he was not born in America and that John was probably born earlier than the 1650-51 date suggested above. It would also mean that either John had another wife before he married Cuthbert Scott's sister or that he married Miss Scott back in England. (It seems most likely with John being claimed as a headright in 1670 and then receiving his rights in 1674 that he actually came in 1670 as an adult, served Thomas Notley for the standard four years, and then received his own land. The possibility must also be considered that John's wife came from England at a later date, bringing the child Richard with her and that this has simply been lost from the records.) In this 1686 document, Richard Vowles is submitting an account of the estate of William Cole of St. Mary's Co, whose widow Margaret he has married. Since payments are still being made out of Cole's estate, we may assume that he has not been dead long and that, therefore, Richard Vowles had only recently married. On 20 Mar. 1694, Richard Vowles participated in the probate of the will of Ann Assiter, whose daughter and executrix was Mary Payne.11 On 11 Aug. 1694 in St. Mary's, he assisted in taking the inventory of Ann Assiter's estate.12 On some illegible date in 1698, Richard assisted in taking the inventory of John Baylor's estate.13
At least 17 years passed after Richard Vowles's marriage before we find any record of his acquiring land in St. Mary's Co. The St. Mary's Co. Rent Rolls for 1707 give some information on his land.14 On 12 Mar. 1703, he and Benjamin Reeder had acquired 200 acres each of "Basford Gleaning" in St. Clement's Hundred, while in New Town Hundred he held 100 acres of "Redbud Thickett" (adjoining William Assiter) and 100 acres of "Bennet's Purchase." A later set of rent rolls shows that by 22 May 1714, he had had several tracts resurveyed into a single tract and had given it the new name "Vowles Purchase." They were the previously mentioned "Redbud Thickett" and "Bennet's Purchase," to which had been added "Thompson's Purchase" and "Manley."15 The 1707 rent rolls show "Thompson's Purchase" (100 acres) was held by John Cole at that time. "Manley" (50 acres) and "Thompson's Purchase" were then acquired from John Cole on 28 May 1708.16 These and other tracts mentioned by Richard Vowles in his will allow us to locate his land fairly closely.17 It was southwest of Leonardtown on what is now called Newtown Neck, the land between Breton Bay on the East and St. Clement's Bay on the West. It stretched from the shores of one bay to the other and at one time amounted to 610 acres. ("Basford Gleaning" was beyond St. Clement's Bay and so could not have been a part of "Vowles Purchase." It is not clear when Richard Vowles disposed of "Basford Gleaning," but it is not mentioned in his will.) The Vowles land may be reached today from Leonardtown (itself on Route 5 out of Washington) by going back northwest from Leonardtown on Routes 234 and 5 (which coincide briefly) and turning southwest (left) on Route 243. It would appear to have covered a great deal of the wider part of Newtown Neck north of St. Francis Xavier Church, the oldest standing Catholic Church in English- speaking America. In the 1990s there was still a farm called "Redbud Thicket" on the west side of 243 on what was once Vowles land and almost opposite the old cemetery that one sees on the left as he approaches the church.
Those who have read old deeds know that the reckoning points were often creeks, stones, and trees. Obviously trees do not last forever. Such a problem occurred with Richard Vowles's "Redbud Thickett," when a "bounded Spanish oak" washed into St. Clement's Bay. On 28 Sept. 1711, John Baptist Carberry and John Gardiner witnessed a set of depositions regarding this problem.18 Richard Vowles had called in John Nevett, son of the late Richard Nevett, and Eliza Gough to give information to settle the matter. John Nevett, then about 70 years old, said that he recalled the oak "Standing on the Side of St. Clements Bay upon a Narrow Oyster Bank near a small bite or Cove." He deposed that this tree was the boundary between "Redbud Thickett" and "Rocky Point," both tracts once belonging to his father Richard Nevett. (One of the original settlers in Maryland, in 1634, Richard Nevett appears quite often in the early records.)19 Eliza Medcalf Gough, whose late husband George Medcalf had been the owner of "Rocky Point," testified to the same facts. Nothing is said about how they would mark the boundary henceforth, but Richard's will 13 years later tells that a "Heap of Stones" was put there in place of the tree. Eliza must have had a husband between Medcalf and Gough, because the 1707 rent rolls show "Rocky Point" possessed by Sam. Davis "who married the Relict [widow] of George Medcalf."
By the time of his maturity Richard Vowles must have reached a position of some respect in this part of Maryland. On 7 July 1707, he was one of a committee of eight instructed by the governor (John Seymour) to select a new location for the St. Mary's Co. courthouse.20 On 17 Dec. 1708, he appears again in a similar role. He is one of seven appointed commissioners whose selection of "Shephards old feild" as the future location of the town to be erected as the county seat was approved by the legislature. The court was to meet in the meantime at the nearby house of Thomas Cooper. This same act of the legislature called for the public sale of the county buildings in St. Mary's City.21 Thus Richard Vowles was one of those responsible for the present condition of St. Mary's City, now nearly abandoned, although reconstructed in the last few years as a historic site.
An examination of the inventory of Richard Vowles's personal property after his death makes one think that he might have had reason to be glad that the county seat was moving much closer to his so-called "dwelling plantation." He was evidently engaged in commerce or industry. Besides the usual necessities of a farmer of his time, he owned 11 slaves, about 170 hides, shoemaker's tools, many hundreds, if not thousands, of yards of various kinds of fabric, several hundred feet of lumber, 36 gallons of tar, and 15 gallons of boiled blubber.22 No document has been found that tells exactly what he did with all this material. Was he a wholesaler, who received shipments from Britain, or did he manufacture clothing, shoes, and other necessities? It is also noteworthy that this inventory included four Bibles and 57 other books. This surely put him well above the average colonist in educational level. His total personal estate (not including land) came to £844, 8 shillings, ¾ pence for possessions. Debts owed to him brought this to £921/3/4¾. This inventory was taken on 4 May 1724 by Justinian Jordan (a member of the legislature) and John Attaway and reported on 4 Aug. 1724. Payments of Richard Vowles's debts as reported by the estate administrator, his son Richard, show that he owed very little, while the second account reported shows an additional £250/18/9 collected from those indebted to him.23 The largest debt owed was by Philip Key, great grandfather of Francis Scott Key, the author of the "Star Spangled Banner."
Richard Vowles had made his will on 4 Apr. 1724, and he must have died soon afterwards, since the will was proved by his witnesses on 22 Apr. 1724.24 These witnesses were John Bowles, Robert Elliott, and the Philip Key mentioned above. Here follow the legacies: Son Richard, a parcel of land on Trap Creek, St. William's Creek, and "Britton's" Bay adjoining William Bradbon's land, "The Fox," and George Thompson's "Rocky Point"; two lots near St. William's Creek; 1500 pounds of tobacco for building himself a house; two Negroes;
Son James, all the lower part of the land lying between the land devised to Richard and St. Clement's Bay on St. William's Creek and Waters Creek; three Negroes;
Wife Mary [obviously a second wife, the first having been named Margaret], to live in "my now dwelling house"; one-fourth part of the land of "my now dwelling plantation, whereon to work her Negroes for her Subsistance out of the land devised" to Richard and James; the care, tuition, and guardianship of son Matthew until he arrives at 21; three Negroes;
Son Matthew, all remaining land called "Vowles Purchase" (the uppermost part); an eighty-acre tract called "Vowles Addition"; part of "Hattfields Hill" bought from William Thompson; two Negroes;
Son John, one Negro boy; a cow and calf; enough broad cloth or jersey for a suit of clothes and enough linen for two shirts, he having already received "Sufficient from me on Settling for himself" [could, therefore, have been the eldest son]; Daughter Mary, wife of John Chunn Jr., a cow and calf, they having received sufficient portion at the time of their marriage;
And finally Richard Vowles concludes this way [punctuation added]: "All the rest of my personal Estate, Quick and Dead, within Doors and without, Goods, Money, Tools, Leather, Debts due to me when received, and all and everything belonging to me not in this my Will Devised or given away, I give devise and bequeath to be Equally divided between my Dearest wife Mary Vowles and my loving Sons James Vowles, Richard Vowles, and Matthew Vowles part and part alike."
Within 12 years all four of Richard Vowles's sons would be dead: James, in 1725, 25 leaving no children; John, in 1734,26 leaving a son and five daughters; Matthew, in 1734,27 leaving an only child Cyrus; Richard, in 1736,28 leaving five sons and a daughter. If Richard married in 1686 at 21, he was born in about 1665, and so was about 59 at his death. Obviously his sons died much younger. Matthew, not yet 21 when the will was made in 1724, could thus have been born no earlier than 1704 and so was 30 or less at death. With no brothers or sisters, Matthew's son Cyrus did not have to share his inheritance, which probably explains why his financial state allowed "gentleman" to be attached to his name in his 1777 will.29 This usage indicated that the person so described had achieved some degree of social or financial prestige.
Although James Vowles was the first of Richard's sons to die (by 22 Mar. 1725), it would appear likely that John was the eldest.30 This supposition is based on the will of his father Richard, which said that he received part of his inheritance when he "settled for himself."31 This, combined with the statement in Richard Sr.'s will that Matthew was not yet 21, implies that the other three sons were of age. If we also assume that Mary Vowles Chunn was of age, then four of the five children in Richard's will were born before 1704. If we assign Matthew the maximum possible age of 20, and if we assume two-year intervals between the births of the children, then we would have the following as the latest possible birth dates for the first four and the earliest possible year for Matthew: John, 1696; Mary, 1698; Richard Jr., 1700; James, 1702; Matthew, 1704. Thus, John would have been born 10 years after the latest possible time that Richard could have married Mrs. Margaret Cole.32 Of course, infant deaths were frequent in that day, so it is quite possible that there were other intervening children who did not survive, and John could have been born somewhat earlier than 1696. James Vowles was evidently unmarried, since neither wife nor children are mentioned in any of the documents relating to his death.33
John, who had administered James's estate, was next to die. The inventory of his estate was ordered on 5 Mar. 1734 and submitted on 21 Mar.34 His widow Elizabeth was administratrix, her securities being Stephen Martin and John Graves.35 His estate was distributed on 5 July 1736, Elizabeth receiving one-third and the residue going to his orphans: Richard Vowles, Margaret Vowles, Elizabeth Vowles, Mary Vowles, Ann Vowles, and Eleanor Vowles, all probably rather young, since the daughters were all unmarried.36 We can thus assume that John was probably no more than 40 years old, giving him a possible birth date of about 1694.
Matthew died approximately one month after John. Ann Vowles was named administratrix of his estate on 17 Apr. 1734.37 His inventory was submitted on 16 June and recorded on 19 Sept. of the same year.38 By the time Ann submitted Matthew's account on 2 Dec. 1746, she was the wife of Peter Mugg, who joined her in presenting the account.39 One-third of the balance of over £205 went to Ann and Peter Mugg, and the residue to Matthew's orphan Cyrus Vowles. (As will be seen later, Cyrus was the ancestor of all the Nelson Co., Ky., Vowleses.) Ann's securities were Samuel Maddox and George Boyd.
The last of Richard Vowles's children for whom a time of death is known is Richard Jr. (No information on the death of Mary Vowles Chunn has been found.) The warrant directing his inventory was dated 22 Apr. 1736, and the inventory was recorded on 6 June with his widow Ann's approval.40 Ann made her accounting of his estate on 5 July 1757. She received her one-third of the balance of over £319, while the residue was to be shared by the orphans Thomas, Richard, James, Matthew, Garrat, and Rebecca.41
Here, then, is an outline of the family of Richard Vowles Sr., possibly the son of the John Vowell/Vowles who was transported to Maryland by Gov. Thomas Notley in about 1670:
Richard Vowles Sr., b. by ca. 1668, d. 1724, St. Mary's Co., Md., m. (1) by 1686, Margaret _______ widow of William Cole, m. (2) Mary _________, his widow.
1. John Vowles, b. by Ca. 1694-96, d. by 5 Mar. 1734, St. Mary's Co., Md.
2. Mary Vowles, b. by ca. 1698.
3. Richard Vowles Jr., b. by ca. 1700, d. by 22 Apr. 1736, St. Mary's Co., Md.
4. James Vowles, b. by ca. 1702, d. by 22 Mar. 1725, St. Mary's Co. Md., unm.
5. Matthew Vowles, b. 1704 or later, d. by 17 Apr. 1734, St. Mary's Co., Md.
Although John Vowles's 1736 estate distribution mentions one son and five daughters, there are no later records concerning these children, unless the Richard who died in about 1750 was his son.42It is somewhat difficult to determine where to assign this Richard Vowles. His near kin are Margaret Cissell and Thomas Vowles. Both Richard Jr., who died in 1736, and John, who died in 1734, had a son named Richard. Richard Jr. had a son Thomas but no daughter Margaret, while John had a daughter Margaret but no son Thomas.43 Of course, since Richard's widow Mary had a surety James Cissell when she was named administratrix of his estate on 11 June 1750, it could be that Margaret Cissell was not his relative, but his wife's.44 The records involving settlement of this later Richard's estate mention no children, so whichever line he belonged to, his particular branch apparently ended with him. By 6 Aug. 1751 his widow Mary had married James Taylor.45
The author of the present article has not done any research on Richard Sr.'s daughter Mary, the wife of John Chunn Jr. Therefore, the unverified notes on the Chunn family in The Baylis Family of Virginia (on pp. 411-20), compiled by Mrs. Willetta (Baylis) Blum and Dr. William Blum Sr., Washington, 1958, are offered in the place of personal investigation. This book indicates very close ties with a Turner family and shows residence in Charles Co., Md., and Fauquier Co., Va. John Chunn Jr. is said to be the son of John Chunn Sr., who died in Charles Co. before 11 Mar. 1734. According to this account, John Chunn Jr. died in Charles Co. sometime in 1744, naming the following children: sons Richard, John, Andrew, and Peregrine and daughters Mary Ann Burch, Elizabeth Chunn, Lydia Graves, Judith Davis, Dorothy Love, and Anna Chunn.
This account states that John Jr. had a brother Andrew Chunn, one of whose daughters was Susannah, who married Thomas Vowles on 27 Dec. 1747 in St. Mary's Co.46 Another of his children was John Thomas Chunn (1750-1804), who married Martha Turner. John Thomas Chunn's will was published in Fauquier Co., Va.47 Among his legatees were Zach. Vowells (also executor) and the children of his deceased nephew Henry Vowels.
On page 448, the Stafford Co., Va., Deed Book 1722-28 identifies Richard Vowles Jr.'s wife as Ann, daughter of Thomas Walters, Gent. Walters had patented land in Stafford Co. in 1704, and now, on 7 Aug. 1727, Richard and Ann Vowles are leasing that land to William Fitzhugh. (In the account of the next generation, it will be seen that some of Richard Jr.'s line moved to Virginia.)
Richard Jr. and Ann's surviving children were Thomas, Richard, James, Matthew, Garrat, and Rebecca.48 The spelling "Garrat" probably represents the pronunciation current then for Gerard. This name was frequent in families associated with Dr. Thomas Gerard and his descendants.49 Nothing further is known about Garrat or Matthew Vowles and very little about James, who was dead by 1770. As said above, Richard Jr.'s son Richard probably is not the one who died in 1750.50 This, therefore, leaves Richard and Ann's son Richard as well as their Thomas, James, and Rebecca to deal with further.
In this generation, there are, of course, no grandchildren of Richard Sr. in James's line. As was mentioned earlier, the records indicate no wife or children for him.
Various documents serve to identify Matthew Vowles's widow Ann. She died in 1755, when, on 20 July, Cyrus Vowles was appointed her administrator with John Baptist Carbarey [Carberry] and Robert Thompson his sureties.51 By now, Ann was a widow again. Peter Mugg's inventory had been submitted in 1750.52 His next of kin were John Maddox and Anthony Simms. Cyrus had been assigned his share of his father's estate when Matthew died. Now Ann's estate all went to her children by Mugg: John, Walter, Thomas, Peter, and Notley, ranging in age from 20 to 10 in 1757.53When Ann's inventory was recorded on 17 Dec. 1755 and approved by Cyrus, Notley Maddox and Samuel Maddox were named her nearest kin.54It is almost certain that this is the same Ann Vowles who was the secondary beneficiary of a strange bequest in early 1734. A black woman,Negro Sarah," left her three children William, Mary, and Elizabeth to Samuel Maddox until they reached 22 or to Mrs. Ann Vowles if Maddox should die before they reached 22.55The above records show Ann Vowles's name connected with three different Maddox men: John, Samuel, and Notley. These are the very same names as the sons of the Notley Maddox who died in early 1716, his will written 24 Feb. 1716 and proved 3 Apr. 1716.56Notley also names his daughters ANN, Sarah, and Jane and his wife Margaret (the daughter of John Goldsmith). The ultimate proof, however, that Ann Vowles Mugg was Notley Maddox's daughter comes in the 1739 will of Margaret Maddox, in which she names her sons William and John and her daughters ANN MUGG, Sarah Simms, and Jane Voidry.57
Notley Maddox was almost certainly the son of Samuel Maddox, whose will was proved 9 Mar. 1685 in St. Mary's Co.58In it he names his eldest son Notley and sons Samuel, William, and John. When he reached 16, Notley was to receive an inheritance left him by Gov. Notley. This was Gov. Thomas Notley, who died in 1679, mentioning legacies to Notley Maddox and Thomas Notley Goldsmith.59This Thomas Notley Goldsmith was the son of John Goldsmith, whose daughter Margaretwas the wife of Notley Maddox.60Gov. Notley also left legacies to John Goldsmith's daughter, also named Notley, and to Notley, son of Benjamin Rozer (Rozier?). The governor, whose executors were Lord Baltimore and Col. Benjamin Rozer, called these four namesakes his godchildren." Some researchers have claimed that the governor was kin to these heirs of his, but this has not been documented.
From the above, we may now derive an outline of the children and grandchildren of the Richard Vowles who died in 1724 (with a + signifying that further information exists):
1. John Vowles, b. probably ca. 1694-96, d. by 5 Mar. 1734, St. Mary's Co., Md., m. Elizabeth ___________ (There is no further information on any of John's line beyond what is given here.)
a. Richard Vowles (possibly the one who d. by 11 June 1750, leaving widow Mary, who later m. James Taylor)
b. Margaret Vowles
c. Elizabeth Vowles
d. Mary Vowles
e. Ann Vowles
f. Eleanor Vowles
2. Mary Vowles, b. probably ca. 1698, m. John Chunn Jr. before Apr. 1724. (There is no further information on any of Mary's line beyond what is given here.)
a. Richard Chunn, d. ca. 1745.
b. John Chunn
c. Andrew Chunn (possibly the father-in-law of Thomas Vowles, son of Richard Jr.)
d. Peregrine Chunn
e. Mary Ann Burch
f. Elizabeth Chunn
g. Lydia Graves
h. Judith Davis
i. Dorothy Love
j. Anna Chunn
3. Richard Vowles Jr., b. probably ca. 1700, d. by 22 Apr. 1736, St. Mary's Co., Md., m. 1727, Ann, dau. of Thomas Walters of Stafford Co., Va.
a. Thomas Vowles +
b. Richard Vowles +
c. James Vowles +
d. Matthew Vowles
e. Garrat Vowles
f. Rebecca Vowles +
4. James Vowles, b. probably ca. 1702, d. by 22 Mar. 1725, St. Mary's Co., Md., unmarried.
5. Matthew Vowles, b. no earlier than 1704, d. by 17 Apr. 1734, St. Mary's Co., Md., m. Ann, d. by 17 Dec. 1755, St. Mary's Co., Md., dau. of Notley Maddox. She m. (2) Peter Mugg, who d. 1750, St. Mary's Co., Md. They had an only child:
a. Cyrus Vowles +
There still remain problems in the Vowles ancestry because of the lack of information regarding the family names of the wives of Richard Sr. (Margaret and Mary) and John (Elizabeth). Perhaps one fairly reasonable possibility for Elizabeth is that she was the daughter of Elizabeth Cooke, from whom she and John received land as "John Vowles and wife" in 1719.61However, neither of Elizabeth Vowles's securities for her administration of John's estate bore that name. As stated earlier, they were Stephen Martin and John Graves. Even more troublesome is the identity of the wives of Richard Sr. We do not even have the basis for deciding which was the mother of his children or if he had children by both wives. One thing appears rather certain, however: There was some connection with a Bullock family. James's next of kin were Margaret Bullock and John Bullock, who signed James's inventory "on behalf of my two sons." 62 (This was obviously not the John Bullock who died in 1705.)63Both Richard Jr. and John had near kin named Margaret Griffin.64This may well be the Margaret Griffin who appears in the 1736 will of John Bullock Jr.65Whatever the case, why would John Bullock's two sons have an interest in James's will? There would seem to be no reason to think that James had a sister Margaret to share in his estate, since his father Richard Sr. named no such daughter in his will. At the same time, with three different sons of Richard showing a kinship with the Bullock family, one would assume that the relationship goes back to Richard Sr. himself and does not result from the marriages of any of his sons. Was the mother of Richard's sons a member of this family? Even if so, this leaves unanswered the question of what interest John or Margaret Bullock's sons had in James's estate, since it would seem that only his brothers and sister should be his heirs. Could all of those that Richard Sr. named in his will be children by his widow Mary, and had he provided for those by his first wife, Mrs. Margaret Cole, by deeding them land, the records for which are now lost? The implication here is that Margaret Bullock and Margaret Bullock Griffin may be the same person or else mother and daughter, in which latter case the Margaret Bullock could be a daughter of Richard Sr. by his first wife. But we recall that Richard mentioned even his children Mary Chunn and John Vowles in his will, despite having provided for them during his lifetime. There is also the fact that no records for the land held by Richard Sr. show it later in the possession of any but his five children named above, at least until considerably after his death. One last possibility is that the Bullocks could be relatives of Richard Sr.'s mother or descendants of some brother of sister of his. These alternatives, however, seem even more unlikely as far as their qualifying as James's heirs is concerned.
For the sake of orderly presentation of the certain and possible relatives of the family of Richard Vowles Sr., here follows a list of the administrators' securities and next of kin in the estate records of the Vowleses of colonial Maryland:
Next of Kin
Richard, d. 1724Mary Vowles John Vowles
James, d. 1725 Margaret Bullock John Bullock
John, d. 1734 Margaret GriffinRichard Vowles
Richard, d. 1750Margaret CissellThos Vowles
Richard, d. 1736 Margaret VowlesMargaret Griffin
Matthew, d. 1734Mary Chunn Richard Vowles
Ann, d. 1755 Samuel Maddox Notley Maddox
Peter Mugg, d. 1750 John Maddox Anthony Simms
Securities
John, adm. of James Geo. Thompson Mark Herbert
Eliz. adm. of John Stephen Martin John Graves Jr.
Mary, adm. of Rich. 1750James Cissell Thomas Edwards
Ann, adm. of Rich., 1736Geo. Clark Thomas McWilliams
Rich., 1736, adm. of Rich., 1724 John Abell John Bols
Ann, adm. of Mat. Samuel Maddox Geo. Boyd
Cyrus, adm. of Ann J. Bapt. Carberry Robt. Thompson
By the time of the maturity of the grandchildren or Richard Vowles Sr., most of these grandchildren simply disappear from the records. It is with the grandchildren of Richard Vowles Sr. that the migration of Vowleses from Maryland to Kentucky and Virginia begins. There is no one by that name to be found in the Maryland census of 1800.
Of his generation (the grandchildren or Richard Vowles Sr.), Cyrus is the one of greatest interest to Kentuckians in the area of Nelson County. Cyrus died in St. Mary's Co., Maryland, in 1777, mentioning four of his eight children in his will.66The eight, with their dates of birth, appear in the records of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, near Leonardtown in St. Mary's Co.67 It is not yet clear why the other children are not mentioned, since all except one (Ann) are recipients of the distribution of Cyrus's estate on 30 Dec. 1785.68At that time, his widow Victoria refused to accept the provisions of the will and received her rightful one-third of the estate. His estate was valued at £1767, 7 shillings, and 6 pence, out of which came only £23/14/9 ¾ in debts. Victoria, then, received £58l/4/2 ¾, while Thomas got tobacco worth £113/0/8, as well as sharing equally with his six brothers and sisters. (John and Matthew received land and Jane a slave.) Each of the seven got £149/18/3.
The records of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church give the following as Cyrus Vowles's children:
1. Jane Vowles, b. 25 Dec. 1754
2. John Vowles, b. 1 Feb. 1758
3. Mathew Vowles, b. 27 May 1762
4. Ann Vowles, b. 11 Feb. 1765
5. Thomas Vowles, b. 26 Jan. 1767
6. Sarah Vowles, b. 3 Feb. 1770
7. Mary Vowles, b. 20 Nov. 1772
8. Elizabeth Vowles, b. 9 June 1777
It is interesting to note that Cyrus's estate had been appraised in continental (American, not British) currency at a value of two for one. This evidently means that the American pound was only half the value of the British pound sterling, this being an indication of just one of the many currency problems experienced by Americans after the Revolution.
As regards the Revolution, Cyrus did not live to see the end of it, but for the few years left to him he was involved on the side of the American colonies. In Leonardtown on 23 Dec. 1774, several committees were named as a part of this struggle with the British. Cyrus Vowles was one of those chosen on the general committee.69This is confirmed in another document, which, in a rather loose interpretation of the term, lists him on the rolls of the militia.70
One finds that Cyrus had evidently reached a fairly high level of prosperity or social prestige, since he presumed to call himself "Gent." at the beginning of his will.71He had also apparently expanded whatever land holdings may have come down to him from his father Matthew, since the will refers to land purchased from William Newton.
Aside from her son John's statement in Elizabeth Vowles and John Head's marriage bond that she is already dead, no later record of Cyrus's widow Victoria has been found.72The same is true of his daughters Sarah, Jane, and Ann.
References
1. Md. Land Office, Patents, 12, p. 601, 2 Aug. 1670.
2. Edward C. Papenfuse et al., Biographical Dictionary of the Maryland Legislature, 1635-1789(Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 1985), Vol. II, p. 616.
3. Harry Wright Newman, The Flowering of the Maryland Palatinate(Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1984), pp. 61-67.
4. Newman, Flowering, pp. 102-3.
5. Md. Land Office, Patents, WCZ, pp. 122-23, 4 May. 1674.
6. Md. Prerogative Court [hereafter abbreviated PC], Testamentary Proceedings, 23, p. 336. He was surety for Elias Hennington, administrator of the estate of Daniell Conally.
7. PC, Wills, 6, p. 31.
8. PC, Testamentary Proceedings, 14A, p. 10, 2 Dec. 1692.
9. Chronicles of St. Mary's, Vol. XXI, No. 5 (May 1973). This is the monthly bulletin of the St. Mary's Co. Historical Society. This particular issue is a map showing 17th and early 18th century land ownership in St. Mary's Co., with accompanying booklet giving tract name, acreage, year, and for whom surveyed.
10. PC, Testamentary Proceedings, 13, p. 391 and St. Mary's Co. Wills HH#1, p. 87. The Hodges Index at the Hall of Records in Annapolis draws a seriously misleading conclusion here. The index compiler suggested that the widow Margaret Cole was the daughter of James Smith, whose will appears in the same book. A closer reading of Smith's will reveals that it was written in 1775, so James Smith's daughter Margaret Cole could not possibly be the one who married Richard Vowles 90 years earlier, especially since Richard's Margaret was already dead in 1724, when his widow was Mary.
11. PC, Testamentary Proceedings, 15C, p. 36.
12. Ibid., p. 120.
13. PC, Testamentary Proceedings, 17, p. 193.
13. Md. Land Office, Rent Rolls, 7, p. 71a.
14. Chronicles of St. Mary's, Vol. XXV, No. 11 (Nov. 1977).
15. Md. Land Office, Rent Rolls, 7, pp. 71 and 81.
16. Ibid., pp. 19, 37.
17. PC, Wills, 18, pp. 258-61, dated 4 Apr. 1724, prob. 22 Apr. 1724.
18. Chancery Court, Chancery Records, 2, p. 751.
19. Newman, Flowering, pp. 242-45, 297-98.
20. Maryland Archives, Vol. XXV, p. 119.
21. Maryland Archives, Vol. XXVII, pp. 346-49.
22. PC, Inventories, 10, pp. 15-23a.
23. PC, Accounts, 6, pp. 432-34, 2 June 1725 and Accounts 7, pp. 513-15, 8 Aug. 1726.
24. PC, Wills, 18, pp. 258-61.
25. PC, Inventories, 10, pp. 418-20, 3 July 1725 (taken 22 Mar. 1725).
26. PC, Accounts, 19, pp. 52-53, ordered 5 Mar. 1733 (actually 1734, since this is before Mar. 25, the beginning of the new year then).
27. PC, Accounts, 19, pp. 138-40, submitted 16 June 1734.
28. PC, Inventories, 21, pp. 511-12, ordered 22 Apr. 1736.
29. St. Mary's Co. Wills JJ1, pp. 31-33, dated 24 Oct. 1777, prob. 16 Dec. 1777.
30. PC, Inventories, 10, pp. 418-20.
31. PC, Wills, 18, pp. 258-61.
32. PC, Testamentary Proceedings, 13, p. 391.
33. PC, Testamentary Proceedings, 27, p. 155; PC, Testamentary Proceedings, 28, p. 42; PC, Accounts, 10, p. 279; PC, Accounts, 7, pp. 408-10.
34. PC, Accounts, 19, pp. 52-53.
35. PC, Testamentary Proceedings, 29, p. 380.
36. PC, Accounts, 15, pp. 86-87.
37. PC, Testamentary Proceedings, 24, p. 411.
38. PC, Accounts, 19, pp. 38-40.
39. PC, Accounts, 23, pp. 128-31.
40. PC, Inventories, 21, pp. 511-12.
41. PC, Accounts, 14, pp. 299-301.
42. PC, Inventories, 43, p. 391; taken 19 May 1750.
43. PC, Accounts, 14, pp. 299-301 and PC, Accounts, 15, pp. 86-87.
44. PC, Testamentary Proceedings, 33, Part 1, p. 148.
45. PC, Accounts, 31, pp. 55-56.
46. Chronicles of St. Mary's, Vol. 7 (Jan. 1959), No. 1, p. 9 and Robert Barnes, Maryland Marriages (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1975), p. 185.
47. Fauquier Co., Va., Will Book 3, p. 527.
48. PC, Accounts, 14, pp. 299-301.
49. Garrat [Gerrard?] Vowles's grandmother, Rebecca Blackiston, daughter of Nehemiah Blackiston and Elizabeth Gerard, and thus granddaughter of Dr. Thomas Gerard, was first married to Gerard Newton and then later to Thomas Walters. Gerard Newton, however, did not get his name by descent, but rather by association. His mother was Rose, wife first of John Tucker, then of Dr. Gerard, and finally of John Newton. Rather strangely, she had sons named Gerard by Tucker and by Newton, but no children at all by the man whose last name she gave to these sons. So Ann Walters, the wife of Richard Vowles Jr. (d. 1736) had the following quite complicated ancestry (actual ancestors highlighted). She was the daughter of Thomas Walters of Stafford Co., Virginia who married, as her second husband, Rebecca Blackiston, daughter of Nehemiah Blackiston and Elizabeth Gerard, daughter of Dr. Thomas Gerard by his first wife Susannah Snow. Dr. Gerard's second wife was Rose ______, widow of John Tucker. Rose married as her third husband John Newton, for whom she was the fourth wife. By Newton, Rose had Gerard Newton, who was the first husband of Rebecca Blackiston. Gerard Newton was thus the son of his wife's step-grandmother! (See the following secondary sources: George H. S. King, comp., Marriages of Richmond Co., Va., 1668-1853, Page F of Addenda and Corrigenda [Fredericksburg, 1964]); "Early Generations of the Newton Family of Westmoreland County, Virginia," originally published in Volumes 36 and 37 (1928 and 1929) of the Virginia Magazine of History and Biography and reprinted in Genealogies of Virginia Families From the Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. IV (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1981), pp. 567-68.
50. One of the Fauquier Co., Va., Vowles lines has, by tradition, an ancestor Richard, who is said to have married a Newton cousin. In view of some of the names of his descendants, he is very probably the son Richard listed in the accounts of Richard Jr., d. 1736. (This thus implies that the Richard who died in 1750 was John's son.) These "traditions" are expressed in the long, continuing (1910-1942) correspondence between Sallie Vowles of Covington, Virginia, and George Vowles Moncure and his daughter Margaret Moncure of Stafford Co., Va. Sallie Vowles attributes these children to Richard Vowles of Fauquier Co. and _______ Newton: 1. John Vowles m. 1792 Araminta Guibert and perhaps also Hannah Battaley in 1781; 2. Rebecca Vowles m. _______Conway; 3. a daughter; 4. James Vowles m. Ann Field and had a son and grandson named Newton. (Virginia Tax Payers by Augusta B. Fothergill and John M. Naugle, reprinted in 1978 by the Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, shows a Richard Vowls [sic] in Fauquier Co., Va., in 1782.)
51. PC, Testamentary Proceedings, 36, p. 213.
52. PC, Inventories, 46, pp. 110-12; taken 9 Nov. 1750, recorded 4 June 1751.
53. PC, Accounts, 41, pp. 88-90.
54. PC, Inventories, 60, pp. 360-62.
55. PC, Wills, 4, p. 904, 18 Feb. 1734, prob. 6 Mar. 1734. (As was usually the case, these dates were actually written 1733/4, since they are both before Mar. 25.)
56. PC, Wills, 14, pp. 108-9.
57. PC, Wills, 22, p. 117, 26 Sept. 1739, prob. 6 Nov. 1739.
58. PC, Wills, 4, pp. 93-94.
59. PC, Wills, 10, p. 17, 3 Apr. 1679, prob. 6 Apr. 1679.
60. PC, Wills, 4, p. 15, 17 Apr. 1683, prob. 31 July 1683.
61. Md. Land Office, Rent Rolls, Book 7, p. 13 records the transfer on 19 Feb. 1719 of 106 acres of "Brough" from Thomas Cooke to Elizabeth Cooke and on 26 Feb. 1719 of the transfer of 106 acres of this same tract by Elizabeth Cooke to "John Vowles and wife." The unusual mention of the wife could well be an indication that Elizabeth Cooke was somehow related to Elizabeth Vowles, wife of John.
62. PC, Inventories, 10, pp. 418-20.
63. PC, Wills, 3, p. 502, 27 Nov. 1700, prob. 23 Apr. 1705. He mentions no wife, but does mention, among others, a son John and a daughter Margaret. The son John is to receive land "bought of Lyonell Oaklye."
64. PC, Inventories, 21, pp. 511-12 and PC, Inventories, 19, pp. 52-53.
65. PC, Wills, 21, p. 718, 15 Oct. 1736, prob. 16 Nov. 1736. This is evidently the son of the John who died ca. 1705, since he also passes on to his son John the land "bought of Lionel Oakley." The John of this will had a wife Catherine and, among others, a daughter Margaret Griffin, who was to be contented with what she had.
66. St. Mary's Co., Md., Wills, JJ1, pp. 31-33, dated 24 Oct. 1777, prob. 16 Dec. 1777. The will is presented here in its entirety.
In the name of God, amen. The twenty fourth day of October, in the year of our Lord One thousand seven hundred Seventy and Seven. I, Cyrus Vowles of Saint Mary's County in the Province of Maryland, Gent. being very sick and weak in body, but of perfect mind and memory, thanks be given unto God, therefore calling unto mind the mortality of my body, and knowing that it is appointed for all men once to die, do make and ordain this my last will and testament. that is to say principally and first of all, I give & recommend my Soul into the hands of God who gave it, and my body I recommend to the Earth to be buried in decent Christian burial, at the discretion of my executors, nothing doubting but at the general resurrection I shall receive again by the mighty power of God, and as touching such worldly Estate wherewith it hath pleased God to bless me in this life, I give, demise & dispose of in the following manner and form.
Imprimis. I give and bequeath unto my loving son John Vowles, my now dwelling plantation to him and his heirs forever.
Item. I give and bequeath unto my loving son Matthew Vowles, all that plantation which I bought of William Newton, my dear and loving Wife Victoria Vowles to have her thirds in it, then the whole to him and his heirs forever.
Item. I give and bequeath unto my loving son Thomas Vowles, Twelve hogsheads of Tobacco, in Leonard Town Warehouse, and one hogshead of Tobacco now in my own Tobacco house at home, together with all the Crop of Tobacco that is to Strip at home, to him & his heirs forever.
Item. My will and desire is, that the Tobacco made at my lower plantation be applyed to pay Levys and the remainder to the use of the family, and to keep the same hands at the same place, and to work as usual, as also, the hands at my home plantation, to be kept and work there as usual, and that my Daughter Jane have a Negro Boy named Charles to wait on her till an alteration.
Lastly I Constitute make and ordain my dear and loving wife Victoria Vowles, and my loving Son John Vowles whole and Sole executors of this my last will and testament, and I do utterly disallow revoke, and disanul all every other Testament by me in any wise before named ratifying and Confirming this and no other to be my last Will and Testament. In Testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my Seal the day and year above said.
Signed Sealed and delivered by the said Cyrus Vowles
Cyrus Vowles as his last will & Testament
in the presence of us
William Mareman, Charles Russell, William Russell
December 16th 1777.Then came Victoria Vowles, and John Vowles and made oath on the holy evangels of almighty God, that the above instrument of writing is the true and whole will and Testament of Cyrus Vowles, late of Saint Marys County deceased, that hath come to their hands or possession and that they do not know of any other.
Certified Jeremiah Jordan Reg. Wills
Saint Marys County, ss the 16th day of December 1777. Then came William Mairman, Charles Russell, and William Russell the three subscribing witnesses to the within last will and Testament of Cyrus Vowles, late of Saint Marys County, deceased, & severally made oath on the holy evangels of almighty God, that they did see the testator therein named, sign and Seal this will, and that they heard him publish, pronounce, and declare the same to be his last will and Testament, that at the time of his so doing, he was to the best of their apprehensions, of sound and disposing mind memory and understanding, and that they respectively subscribed their names as witnesses to this will, in the presence, and at the request of the testator, and in the presence of each other.
Certified by Jeremiah Jordan Reg. Wills
On the 16th day of December, 1777. Came Victoria Vowles, the widow of Cyrus Vowles, late of Saint Marys County, deceased, and quitted her claim to the several bequest and devises made to her in the will of her said husband deceased, and elected in lieu thereof her dower or third part of the deceased's estate both Real and personal
Before Jeremiah Jordan Reg. Wills
67. Chronicles of St. Mary's (Monthly bulletin of the St. Mary's County Historical Society), Vol. 7, No. 1 (Jan. 1959), p. 8.
68. St. Mary's Co., Md., Distributions, 1782-1815, p. 21.
69. Edwin Warfield Beitzell, St. Mary's County, Maryland, in the Revolution (Leonardtown: St. Mary's Co. Bicentennial Commission, 1975), pp. 125-26.
70. Maryland Revolutionary Militia Lists (at Maryland Historical Society, Baltimore), p. 163.
71. See footnote 66.
72. This Nelson Co., marriage bond is dated 8 Feb. 1794. In John's consent for the marriage, he says". Mr Grayson my sister Elizabeth is of full age. Our parents are both dead and I am the oldest brother."
PLEASE EXCUSE THE TABBING PROBLEMS WITH TABLES.ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS TO THE EARLY GENERATIONS WILL FOLLOW IN A DAY OR SO.
More Replies:
-
Re: Vowles of Md. Chap. 1
Robert Moore 11/02/01
-
Re: Vowles of Md. Chap. 1
Robert Moore 11/03/01
-
Re: Vowles of Md. Chap. 1